1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image-forming device equipped with an image-reading unit for reading image data from an original document.
2. Related Art
Proposals have been made for image-forming devices having a basic function and the capability of adding expanded functions as needed. One such image-forming device is disclosed in Japanese patent application publication No. HEI-10-20596. FIG. 7 shows an example of the image-forming device disclosed in this publication. As shown in FIG. 7, the image-forming device includes an engine section 211, and a stacked paper-delivery section 212 disposed on top of the engine section 211. When adding a printer function and facsimile function, a scanner unit 213 is disposed on top of the stacked paper-delivery section 212; and an expansion board accommodating unit 241 is provided between the engine section 211 and the scanner unit 213 in parallel with the stacked paper-delivery section 212. The expansion board accommodating unit 241 accommodates an expansion board related to the printer function and/or facsimile function. A basic board accommodating unit 240 is disposed adjacent to the engine section 211 and below the expansion board accommodating unit 241.
With this construction, the space between the basic board accommodating unit 240 and the portion of the scanner unit 213 that extends over the stacked paper-delivery section 212 can be effectively used for accommodating the expansion board accommodating unit 241. Since the expansion board accommodating unit 241 accommodates an expansion board related to expanded functions, the footprint of the entire device can be kept small when adding expanded functions.
However, recent image-forming devices are continually being made smaller, with particular emphasis on a compact body. The conventional arrangement described above, in which the expansion board accommodating unit 241 is provided adjacent to the stacked paper-delivery section 212 and between the engine section 211 and scanner unit 213 for accommodating expansion boards, provides the expansion board accommodating unit 241 external to the main body of the image-forming device so that the expansion boards are not provided inside the image-forming device. Such an arrangement is insufficient for producing a compact image-forming device.